The Original Mexican Food: What Did the Aztecs Eat and Drink?

Please do more food episodes like this. The British ones are great, but shining light on other civilizations is wonderful

As much as I enjoy European history, this kind of video is a wonderful change of pace - thanks so much!

As someone who eats Mexican food almost everyday, Dan's open-ended tortilla made me anxious.

Fun fact: Maize cooked in lime water induces a process called nixtimalisation; among other things, nixtimalisation reduces mycotoxins by up to 97%. When maize was first exported to Spain, many rural poor didn't know they had to nixtimalise it, meaning many people actually got sick from eating it. Even as late as the early 20th century, many poor populations in the southern US didn't nixtimalise it, leading to endemic outbreaks of pellagra.

The reason he disliked the frog legs is because they were boiled…they should have been fried or roasted, best would have been breaded with maze flower and egg then deep fried.

The contribution of The Aztec to European via Mediterranean cuisine cannot indeed be overstated, rich pickings for maritime adventurers, on which subject I have not seen much via u tube.. The graphics especially early on in the film are outstanding! Nice one Dan and team. ⭐👍

Chia and Algae also played essential roles in the diets of the Aztecs. Spirulina and Chia seed are now expensive and “super foods” that rich people buzz about, but back then it was just the common way to get extra protein, iron, and antioxidants in your diet. The upper class Aztecs and royalty also had access to avocados and venison AKA Deer. The Spanish conquistadors described enclosed game reserves where the Aztecs bred and harvested venison.

😂😂😂 British pronunciation of Conquistador had me in stitches 🤣 😂 😆 😳 (from California for reference, 80-90% of the time we use the Northern Mexican Spanish pronunciation for things). He forgot squash, it's one of the tres hermanas (three sisters) that were/are always grown together, corn, beans, and squash. Also, wheat wasn't introduced to the Americas till the Spanish brought it, so all tortillas would've been made from nixtamilized corn, which he didn't explain, it's the alkali water he mentioned, the process is called nixtamilization, from the Nahuatl word nixtamalli, the reason this is still done do this day is because the variety of corn grown is not digestible on its own, it can cause gastroenteritis and malnutrition, the alkali solution was made from pot ash and water that broke down the corn's cell walls to make it more digestible and get ghe nutrients from it. There are corn varieties that dont need this anymore such as sweet corn, but tge varieties used for most Mexican cuisine still need to be processed this way. It's kinda sad the host brushed over this point.

Can you imagine a world without potatoes, chilli or tomatoes?

Being of Mexican ancestry, I can attest to the fact that us Mexicans love our chilies. I always have a fresh picked jalapeño with my dinner. The hotter it is the better! Please do one on the Incas. They introduced the Europeans to the potato.

tomatoes and especially corn and potatoes changed the world. the world would not be the same without them in many many ways. thank you indigenous americans!

Maize porridge is still popular in the Americas though in the Southern U.S. it is called Hominy Grits. One of my favorite recipes is to cook up some grits then pan fry some shrimp in butter then make a pan sauce with the drippings. Place a portion of grits on a plate, add the shrimp on top, cover with the pan sauce and Bon appetite.

Great video, central American history does not get enough coverage. When I travel to central Mexico some of the traditional aztec restaurants are the best I have ever eaten at. Mexico has one of the best culinary cultures in the world by far!

Love frog legs. Had a nice platter of fried frog legs in Mexico City, 49 years ago.

This was such an amazing episode. I just want to say huge hi from northern México.

Me watching Dan make a burrito: 🤦‍♂️. Me watching all the fillings not fall right out the bottom: 😀 👍

The last time I was in Mexico City I did a food tour. It was so fun, and I highly recommend it.

And pepper. No Indian today or African can claim their spicy foods without the contribution of the Americas. Peppers of any variety just didn't exist in the Asian/European/African trade routes.

I’m glad to see that you finally had some great food👍🏻🙂

Another fun one! So much more adventurous than I 🤭